


Fated to Meet

by Caitlin_WithanI



Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man Far from Home - Fandom
Genre: M/M, Mysterio who, School Trip, Strangers to Lovers, Teacher-Student Relationship, Tony Stark is remembered as a father figure
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2020-06-26 09:30:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 18,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19765378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caitlin_WithanI/pseuds/Caitlin_WithanI
Summary: What if Quentin Beck wasn’t Mysterio, what if he was just a physics teacher at Peters school who volunteers to go on the school trip and Peter and him get on like a house on fire.





	1. And We Begin

‘Right class, so we have an update on the science trip. Unfortunately, Mr Dell will be unable to help with chaperoning the trip, but I have managed to persuade the new physics teacher to come with, so it will be me and Mr Beck. Oh, and also…’ Mr Harrington continued prattling on, most of which Peter drowned out.

‘Mr Beck? Which one is that?’ Ned asked, they were currently sitting in homeroom. They had a special set of classes where it was just the kids who got blipped, so while Peter was glad that he was still with Ned and MJ it did also mean he was stuck with Flash.

‘Erm, no clue. Maybe it was the one with the glass eye?’ Peter gestured at his right eye, Ned thought on this then shook his head.

‘Is that not Mr Thompson or something?’ Peter nodded. It seemed that a lot could change in five years, including most of the staff. And while they had gotten an assembly introducing all the new teachers, there had been so many that they could only really point out the ones who had taught them this year. ‘Oh, maybe it’s the personal space one,’ Peter looked at him with a confused expression, ‘you know the one that gets up real close and follows you when you move back from him. He covered one of our physics classes last week I think.’ Peters face lit up with recognition.

‘Yeah I remember, god I hope it’s not him.’ Peter didn’t need anything ruining his summer vacation, not monsters, not gods, and definitely not possibly pervy teachers. 

‘I’m pretty sure Mr Beck is the one with the nice beard.’ They both looked up to MJ standing over them, ‘the one who teaches the senior classes.’ She had her art folder in her hands, clearly getting ready to bolt when the bell went. ‘He seems really nice at least, so hopefully, it is him.’ She smiled awkwardly, aware that neither boy had responded yet.

‘Er I don’t think I’ve really seen him, but yeah, hopefully, he’s pretty decent.’ Peter smiled, but MJ laughed, so he could only imagine how awkward the smile was. ‘Well I think we’ll find out soon enough, seeing as the trip is in two days, and well he is gonna be there and so will we so….’ 

Thankfully the bell went, and MJ left with just an amused look and not peals of laughter, well from her at least. ‘Wow smooth going there Casanova.’ And there was Flash.

Peter sat in his room, he didn’t notice his Aunt come home or hear her shout, he just sat frozen in his room, stuck in the silence.

‘-eter! PETER!’ He jumped at May’s touch, and when he looked at her face, he could see the worry there, his eyes dropped to where she gripped his arm.

He shook his head, ‘Oh sorry May, I must have missed you coming in.’ He gave a weak smile, hoping she wouldn’t press the matter. 

She smiled sadly at him, ‘it’s okay, I was just wondering if you had eaten yet?’ He shook his head. In truth peter couldn’t remember if he had or not, when he was on his own time seemed to blur together and he let himself do things on autopilot. ‘Well, I’m gonna order some pizza, and we are gonna eat together while we pack your bags for tomorrow.’

‘That sounds great.’ His smile was real this time. She went off to order, leaving Peter a final moment alone. A final moment to think of Tony.

The next morning, May drove him to school, where the bus was out front, waiting to take them to the airport. They met in the science class and had some time to say goodbye and make sure they had everything they needed. May smiled proudly at him as he stood with Ned and his mum, they chatted about how grown up the boys were getting. Ned was excitedly talking about some video game, but Peter seemed to stare off with a vacant stare. She spotted Mr Harrington at the front of the classroom speaking to another teacher she didn’t know, looking at Peter she decided she had to do it. She walked over to them and Mr Harrington lit up at her appearance. He was a nice man if not too partial to oversharing, which made him seem a little pathetic.

‘Well if it isn’t Ms Parker,’ he turned to his colleague, ‘this is May Parker, her nephew is my brightest student.’ The other teacher looked at her and smiled, it was different from the way most men smiled at her, they clearly wanted flirt with her. This man’s smile seemed like an eye roll at Harrington’s words, though knowing Harrington he probably hadn’t shut up since they’d gotten here. He stuck his hand out, which she happily took.

‘I am Quentin Beck, one of the newer teachers.’ He smiled properly now.

‘Right, that’s why I haven’t seen you.' She smiled politely. It was strange how easily life had gone on around them when the blip happened. 'I was wondering if I could have a word with you, Mr Beck.’ She gestured to the door, and his face changed instantly into teacher mode. It was very endearing. 

‘Yes, of course, lead on.’ Mr Harrington wandered off to pester Flash, clearly not seeing how she had chosen another teacher to speak too before him. She could see Peter following them with his eyes, a deep-set worry on his face. A look she wished he didn’t know how to make, but he was so much older than his 17 years, a fact that scared her.

Once in the hall, she took a deep breath. ‘I know you don’t know the kids, and I would say this to Mr Harrington but well…’ Beck laughed nodding at her sentiment, ‘Peter has had a really tough time. And not just with the blip, he was close to Tony Stark and his death was.. well I think it destroyed him inside. This trip is him getting on with his life but I’m worried that he will lose focus on it, I see him doing it when he’s alone and I’m worried he’s going to be half a world away with no one to turn to. I…’ she stopped, it felt like she had more to say but she just shook her head and looked at him.

‘You’re right, I don’t know these kids, but if you’re worried about him, I will keep an eye on him, I’ll make sure he isn’t alone with his thoughts too much. I can’t promise anything, but I’ll make sure he knows I’m here for him. Thank you for bringing this to my attention Ms Parker.’ She could see his sincerity in his eyes, she knew he could be trusted. 

‘Thank you.’ She could feel the tears threatening to fall. It was hard enough raising a kid, let alone Spider-Man, and maybe Ben would have known what to do but… well, she just has to hope everything will be fine.

‘It’s no problem, now if you have any worries feel free to get in contact with me, The packets have all the contact information in them, myself and Mr Harringtons phone numbers and those for all the hotels.’ He smiled and lead her back into the room where people were picking their stuff up and beginning to filter out of the room. 

Peter almost jumped her after Mr Beck went for his stuff, ‘May, what was that? Are you okay?’ It hurt to see his concern fully on her, but she smiled brightly.

‘I just wanted to know that you boys will be in good hand while you’re away, I know how Mr Harrington is. Now have you got your case, oh I’m gonna miss you so much,’ she pulled him into a tight hug, ‘remember if you need anything, please call.’ Peter gripped back just as tight nodding against her shoulder. 

‘Come on everyone, time to get on the bus!’ Mr Harrington shouted overly the throng of kids and parents, who were already headed outside. 

The bus was big considering there was only 20 of them going, so everyone was mostly spread out nearer the back of the bus, Peter was one of the last on the bus, so he b-lined straight to Ned, who had kept a window seat for him, and MJ who was sat in front of Ned. Once settled and they had been waved off, Ned and MJ prattled away together on the topic of the government keeping tags on their whereabouts, Peter looked out the window not really seeing anything. He didn’t get motion sickness much, but even after the bite buses seemed to still be the only exception. It was only an hour to the airport, so he took a deep breath and tried to focus on their conversation. 

It was only after Ned had nudged him for the third time for zoning out that his stomach decided to lurch. Ned shouted for a teacher without Peter saying anything but when he looked at the window, he could see how pale he had gone in his reflection. He felt the bus pull over, but his brain was spinning, and he found he couldn’t focus on anything, let alone not vomiting. He felt two hands grab him up out of his chair, passed a standing Ned, and they dragged him down off the bus and into the air, which helped him focus his mind a little. He could feel a hand rub up and down his back and heard a light muttering in his ear, and as he took deep breaths of the fresh air, he could pick up some of the words.

‘Deep breaths, that’s it, just breath…’ Peter closed his eyes and leaned into the other person, hoping to god it wasn’t Mr Harrington, because Flash would never let him live that down. After a few minutes, Peter felt like he was back in control of his body enough to stand straight and finally look at the other man. Relief washed over him as he stared at Mr Beck, although mild horror followed it at the fact he had cuddled into the arms of a teacher he barely knew. Mr Beck smiled softly at him almost as if he knew exactly what was going through Peters mind. 

‘You should have said that you got travel sick Peter.’ Peter felt shame pulse through him, but it died when he realised that Mr Beck wasn’t angry or disappointed. He just stated it like it was a simple fact.

‘I’m sorry.’ Peter looked away, feeling awkward about the whole thing. 

‘Don’t be, there is nothing to be sorry about. Unfortunately, I’m gonna get you to sit up the front near the open windows, just in case.’ Peter nodded, feeling tears of shame burning in his eyes.

‘How… how long till we get to the airport?’ He asked, stepping up into the bus again. Mr Beck leaned against Peters back, pointing at the seat next to where his stuff was. ‘Only about 35 minutes.’ Peter shivered as his teacher whispered in his ear, nodding stiffly before sitting in the window seat. 

The bus started up again, but Mr Beck moved past where Peter sat making his way up the back of the bus only to reappear with Peters backpack and hoodie. Peter took his hoodie, balling it up against the window and hiding his face in it. What a great start he thought bitterly as tears streaked down his cheeks.

By the time they reached the airport, Peter was exhausted. Mostly from his motion sickness, and his crying. He imagined he looked a state but when he asked Ned, he shook his head and said, ‘you look fine don’t worry’, while MJ nodded behind him. He still felt shaky, but he tried to shake that feeling and get his positive thoughts back. It certainly helped when he heard Mr Back raise his voice a little at Flash, before making it clear to everyone that there would be serious consequences if anyone mocked anyone else base on how they responded to travelling. It was nice to have a teacher defend him when he couldn’t. 

They got through check-in quite quickly, apart from Peter, who managed to be flagged down by a sniffer dog. Mr Harrington led the rest of the class on, but Mr Beck insisted that he wait beside Peter while they opened his suitcase. Much to Peter’s horror when he saw his suit at the top with a sticky note from Aunt May. Peter hid his horrified face behind his hands, while the woman picked up some bananas May had packed, saying they weren’t allowed. He nodded in embarrassment and took his case back, rushing to catch up to the rest of the class, while Mr Beck laughed and shook his head behind him. Quentin could tell this trip was going to be very interesting with Mr Parker on it.


	2. Piccolo Ragno

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter in Venice isn’t smooth sailing but a fun beginning to their holiday.

Peter had cheered up massively during the flight, so by the time they reached Venice he was excited for the upcoming 2 weeks again. He and Ned were deep in conversation all the way to the hotel Mr Harrington had arranged for them, so much so that Peter nearly walk straight off the canal path. Just as he was putting his foot down his ‘Peter Tingle’ alerted him to something coming at his back so he pivoted on the spot leaning away from the object only to be grabbed at the collar by Mr Beck just as he lost balance. Peter’s hand shot out, grabbing Mr Beck’s arm before he was pulled forward a few steps. Mr Beck was giving him a very worried look, so Peter brushed it off by smiling wide and exclaiming how close that was and hurrying back over to Ned. 

Mr Beck stared after him, very concerned about Peter’s almost violent reaction to being touched. It was a worrying reaction for a kid his age, for him to look like he was going to lash out and throw punches. Quentin left it, deciding he would do something about it later. 

They reached the hotel without any more incidents, with Flash guiding both the group and those watching his livestream straight to the building. Mr Harrington was following close behind Flash insisting that they were going the wrong way and that the map was going to be right. He was promptly ignored by everyone else, who were enamoured with the Venetian buildings and boats. Betty, who had reluctantly agreed to join MJ and the two boys, was quite enthusiastically talking about some conspiracy or other about a group of Assassins that supposedly existed 600 years ago. They dumped all their stuff quickly at the hotel, wanting to make the most of the morning before heading to the Da Vinci Museum at 2 pm. 

‘I’m gonna wait outside with the girls for you, Betty seems like she knows a lot about the area, so I was gonna ask her about some of the building while she’s still interested in talking to us.’ Ned almost ran out of the room at Peter’s nod, leaving a bewildered Peter to swap some stuff out of his case and into his backpack. When he opened his case, he could do nothing but stare at the suit nestled on top. It didn’t have Karen built into it, so Peter found when he wore it he felt very alone. After everything that had happened he had made some friends, but not the kind he felt he could go and talk to. Dr Strange was pretty cool but he seemed too busy for Peter to go and bother and The Guardians were also super cool, but they were in space, along with Thor. He couldn’t help but feel adrift. Like he had lost everything. He wasn’t planning on taking the suit but brushing his fingers over it he decided it couldn’t hurt, so he put it at the bottom of his backpack. When he saw the note he smiled, ‘You are not alone =) x’. Peter was really glad his Aunt had also been Blipped. He didn’t want to think about how much it would have destroyed her to bury one more family member. He quickly went through his stuff, putting more deodorant on and shoving a cleaner hoodie in his bag he zipped it up and turned only to jump when he saw someone in the doorway.

‘Hey sorry, I knocked a few times, but you must not have heard me.’ Mr Beck shuffled awkwardly into the room, running a hand through his hair nervously.

‘Errr… sorry I… I was just thinking.’ Peter looked worried, had he been there long, did he see the suit again?

‘I just wanted to speak to you before we let you guys loose. About earlier, when I grabbed you.’ Peter had only seen teachers look this uncomfortable when they were going to ask very personal questions, usually about family. ‘Look, I don’t know you, but I was wondering if everything was okay at home?’ Peter took a sharp breath in, was this about May?

‘Look I don’t know what it is you want to know, but my home life is fine, perfectly.’ Peter took a step back, ‘I’ve gotta go catch up with Ned.’ He tried to walk out the door, but his path was blocked by Mr Beck’s arm.

‘Peter I… I’m not very good at this, but what I’m trying to ask is… Peter is someone hurting you?’  
Peter froze, Mr Beck thought that he was, what being abused? Burning anger filled him at the insinuation.

‘You know something, you’re right Mr Beck, you don’t know me,’ Peter look him dead in the eyes, ‘May would never… I…,’ he could feel tears burning at the back of his eyes, ‘excuse me.’ Peter pushed past his teacher, heading straight outside. Once out he headed to an empty backstreet path and leaned against the wall, he could feel the tears burn down his face. Mr Beck stood still in the doorway to Peter’s room, cursing the way it had gone.

Peter purposefully stood as far from Mr Beck and Mr Harrington as he physically could, staying at the back of the group as they moved through the museum. Thankfully Ned didn’t say anything about his behaviour, although Ned and Betty were practically glued to each other. Peter didn’t mind so much, as strange as it was, it was good to see Ned making other friends. Plus, he got to talk to MJ, although she was pretty absorbed in reading each and every one of the information placards. So, Peter strolled around, consciously aware of where the teachers were, and Flash, but he could hear him from three rooms away with how loudly he talking to his ‘followers’. Peter had calmed down after leaving the hotel, but the thought that anyone could think May was hurting him was astonishing. She was amazing and had done so much for him without an ounce of regret or complaint. They were all they had left. But Peter didn’t want to think about it again. 

He went in search of a bathroom deciding that seeing as he wanted to be alone, he could go change into his suit while he was at it. It took a few minutes and a lot of dodging his classmates to make it unseen into the bathroom, but he quickly stripped and put the suit on. The memories and feeling hit him a lot harder than he expected so throwing his normal clothes back on over the top he sat heavily on the toilet seat, letting out a ragged breath. He tried to stay quiet when he heard the door open, but when he heard the soft call of his name, he couldn’t keep the sobs back. He had almost refused to let himself grieve Tony’s death, he didn’t feel like he had the same right as Pepper or even Morgan. Especially Morgan. He felt like he had lost his dad again like he’d lost his uncle again, and he’d never told Tony how much he respected him and loved him like a parent. He heard a light knock against the cubical door, so he unbolted it and looked at his teacher.

‘I’m sorry about earlier, I really should have found a better way to ask. I wasn’t trying to insinuate anything about your Aunt.’ Peter nodded, tears still falling but at least he had stopped sobbing. ‘I… I want you to know that you can come to me, to talk, if you need to. I know you don’t know me but I’m here to help however I can.’ Peter avoided Mr Beck’s gaze; eyes fixed somewhere the side of his left shoulder. Everything was so difficult to explain to someone who didn’t know about him being Spider-Man, but maybe it would be good to talk to someone who didn’t know him.

‘I… I miss him,’ a few more tears escaped as he closed his eyes, unimaginable pain washing through him, ‘He was amazing to me and I never got to thank him and now he’s gone.’ 

‘Peter I’m gonna ask you something and I would like for you to answer me straight and not get angry,’ Peter nodded, 

‘Did Tony Stark hurt you?’ Peter took a sharp breath, Mr Stark had never hurt him, never in the way his teacher meant. 

‘No.’ It was painful to say out loud as if in some way it was disrespectful to even insinuate the idea that he could. 'Never.' 

‘Okay, I’m sorry.’ Mr Beck pulled him into a hug, and even though this man was a teacher and one he barely knew Peter latched on as if his life depended on it. 

‘He knew Peter, everything you never said, he knew.’ Peter scrunched his eyes tighter and buried his head into his teachers’ shoulder.

When Peter reappeared MJ gave him a worried look, ‘you vanished so I sent Mr Beck after you, are you okay?’ Peter was surprised, he thought he’d slipped away without being seen.  
‘Oh yeah I was just looking for the bathroom,’ it meant a lot to know his friends cared, ‘thanks.’ MJ smiled back before nudging him and asking what he thought of Ned and Betty’s sickening display of love, he was reduced to laughter in no time.

After the museum Mr Harrington set them free to go where they wanted, stating that if they were needed, he and Mr Beck would be back at the hotel, and sentiment Mr Beck did not agree with considering his quirked eyebrow and purposefully shook his head. Peter and his friends strolled through the little markets, looking for trinkets to take home. They all rolled their eyes when they saw Flash, phone in hand, trying to bargain with a little Italian woman, who cared about as much for what he was saying as she understood, and that was very little. 

Peter wanted to get something really cool for May, something to brighten up the new apartment and made it that little bit more of a home. They all branched off to search solo, well he and MJ did, Ned and Betty searched together as they were connected at the hip. It was then that Peter felt like a bucket of cold canal water had been thrown over him. He searched around frantically for what was causing his ‘Peter tingle’ to go mad.

He spotted a group of men dragging a young woman down a side street, grubby hand over her mouth preventing her from shouting. He quickly found a dark corner to throw his clothes off and put his mask and gloves on. He wanted to avoid being seen so he used his webs to get onto a nearby roof, slowly stalking the men, 7 or 8 he could see from this angle, looking for the best angle of attack. He decided to swing down and kick the man holding the girl into the canal, turning and telling her to run before the rest of the men descended on him. 

He managed to gain some height before any of them reached him, he needed to keep them distracted enough until she got help. He swung up onto a roof, searching for any of the men who were alone or far away from the others. He spotted two and made quick work dropping down and webbing one to the side of the building and kicking the feet out from the other, webbing his feet and leaving him hanging upside down on the same building. By then he could hear the sound of police sirens so anticipating that all the men would scatter Peter knew he would also have to leave. Turning around he was punched in the face, no thanks to the ‘Peter Tingle’, hitting the ground he rolled out of the way of a heavy boot kicking down at him but wasn’t far enough away to avoid being grabbed and picked up by the man. 

He leered at Peter muttering a soft ‘piccolo ragno’ before punching him in the stomach and rearranging his hold so he had Peter by the throat. Peter could hear footsteps, but he couldn’t tell where they were, his head was spinning as the man tightened his grasp, he could only pray it was the police. 

‘Hey! Asshole!’ Not the police then, Peter weakly tried to turn his head, but the thugs' grip was strong preventing any movement. Peter could hear a chuckle before he was tossed to the ground, panic followed the oxygen filling his body. He tried to stand but felt his vision swim, but Peter pushed on, he shot webs at the man’s arms and legs, trying to bring the man's attention back round to him. 

He charged at Peter, who easily rolled out of the way but faced a wave of dizziness trying to get back up. The man laughed again before running at Peter again only this time when Peter rolled out of the way instead of there being more path or even a building there was only the canal for the man to run into. 

Peter stayed down this time, giving his body a chance to chill before he stood, although he was quickly accompanied by Mr Beck who was shaking him asking if he was okay. Peter nodded weakly before being hoisted up by the other man.

‘I’m guessing you won’t wanna be found by the police.’ God does he have a nice smile. Peter giggles at that thought, no idea why he had been so affected by that fight but let himself sink into the other man’s arms.

They made it a good distance before Peter’s healing factor had kicked in enough for him to feel mostly back to normal. Also, for him to notice he was being taken back to the hotel they were staying at. He froze, stopping Mr Beck, who looked at him with concern. God how was Peter going to spin this, he had to get away now.

He stood straight, looking at his teacher willing his voice to be deep.  
‘Thank you… er, citizen… for the assist. I have to go but thank you.’ Peter nodded stiffly before turning to go.

‘Wait!’ Peter was shocked when his teacher grabbed him. ‘I … I just wanted to know, are you okay? Like are you hurt?’ Peter just stared at him; most people don’t ask stuff like that. They either thank him or swear him off. It was really nice to hear.

‘I’ll be fine.’ He replied, before winking and swinging off in what Peter hoped was the direction back to the market area.

Peter has no idea why he winked. Especially considering the man was his teacher! But behind his retreating form Quentin Beck stood stock still with a blush high on his cheeks. He smiled and continued his way back.


	3. A First Meeting (And Hopefully the Only)

Peter somehow made it back to where he dumped his clothes and his bag, happy to see they were still there in one piece. He dared to slip his clothes back on there, and the fact someone managed to sneak up on him says a lot considering he should have been paying attention. But all he could think about was the way Mr Beck had looked at him, well looked at Spider-Man. When MJ cleared her throat, Peter jumped literally a foot into the air.

‘Sup.’ She says as if she isn’t staring down her friend in a dark corner whilst he only has a pair of jeans and a half buttoned up shirt on. Oh, and a bright red Spider-Man costume. MJ looked very unimpressed and Peter didn’t think he’d be able to talk his way out of this one. 

‘Hey.’ He’s quiet in his response, picking up his bag and stuffing the mask and the gloves in, zipping it up and throwing it over his shoulder. ‘I … MJ I…’ 

‘I already knew,’ Peter opened his mouth in disbelief, ‘Well I didn’t know 100% but I was 67% sure.’ She stepped forward to button his shirt up, so the suit underneath was hidden. Once happy she turned and began walking back to the hotel.

‘You knew?! But…’ Peter didn’t quite know how to deal with this, MJ knew, MJ had figured it out! If he wasn’t gay Peter was 100% sure he would be in love with her right now. ‘Wait is everyone back at the hotel?’ Horror rose in him, if they had all gone back it would be suspicious that Peter hadn’t.

‘Don’t worry about it, Mr Harrington tried to get us to go back but nobody listens to him, and because Mr Beck had run off to help there was no one we would actually listen to around.’ She smiled as she explained. ‘I thought I’d come find you, so you’d have an alibi in case anyone got any ideas.’

‘I… thank you, MJ.’ She smiled shyly, but they continued in silence for the rest of the journey. Peter was really glad to have her as a friend, even if they were quite awkward around each other. 

When they returned to the hotel, they were shocked to see that everyone was dressed up in their ‘nice clothes’ and waiting for them. Mr Harrington seemed really stressed as he stood with Ned and Betty asking over and over if they knew where Peter and MJ had gone or if they knew when they’d be back. When he saw them, he almost deflated with relief.

‘Thank god, you two have five minutes to get changed. We have received reservations for a fancy restaurant for dinner this evening and its in 10 minutes so go go go…’ he shooed them to the stairs, ignoring their questions. They silently went to their rooms and Peter rushed to take the Spider-Man suit off and stuff it in the bottom of his case. He pulled out the nice grey shirt May had packed and the black slacks.

As he left his room a very unimpressed woman walked past him, throwing an envelope as she went. Peter gaped after her retreating form, but Mr Harrington’s shouts got him moving towards the stairs. He put the envelope in his pocket to look at later. 

The maître d'hôtel looked very unimpressed with their group when they entered but seated them and began taking orders immediately. Peter, Ned and MJ sat at the end farthest from the waiters and seeing as Flash was asking questions about every item on the menu, Peter figured he had time to look at the envelope. There was nothing written on it, so he opened it to see a piece of card which said '9.30 go to the bathrooms’. There was no indication of who sent it or why, but Peter saw no reason not to inspect further. 

Looking at his watch Peter chose to go, so he leaned over to Ned and whispered, ‘hey, when they get to us order something for me,’ before getting up and asking another waiter for directions to the toilet. He smiled encouragingly at the worried looks MJ and Ned shot after him. 

The note was vague so Peter planned on waiting just inside the room and hoped that would be good enough, but as he turned the corner to the corridor the bathrooms were on, there was a man stood at the door.

Peter smiled politely at the man as he went to move into the bathroom, but the man stepped in front of the door in the most threatening way possible. Peter froze, he had his web shooters but that wouldn’t be enough if the man attacked him. The man looked him up and down before chuckling and walking further down the corridor, the opposite way Pater had come, throwing a ‘Come,’ as he went.

The man led him to a back staircase and up into a gloriously decorated old state room, in which sat the lady who had passed off the note to him back at his hotel. She seemed just as unhappy now as she did then. At the window stood a silhouetted man dressed in what looked like a black leather overcoat, and when he turned Peter knew exactly who he was (the eye patch being a good indicator).

‘Peter Parker, we have never met before, but I felt like it was time you and I should be acquainted. Nick Fury.’ The man spoke loudly and Peter could easily picture this man commanding lots of respect from his people, as well as fear. ‘My associate Maria Hill and I,’ he continued pointing at the woman, ‘thought we should give you some space before approaching you. We can only imagine how difficult Tony’s death was for you.’

Peter nodded at that, grateful for their consideration. ‘So why now? Could this not have waited till I got back? I was kinda wanting this to be my summer off, you know? Away from being Spider-Man.’  
Fury laughed, ‘You don’t get it kid, you don’t just stop being the superhero because it’s too much.’

Maria Hill stood, ‘Don’t worry kid, we aren’t here to drag you into anything,’ She picked up a package off the coffee table, ‘We are just passing this along.’ She smiled as she passed it to him, then her gaze moved to Fury. ‘Let’s go, let him enjoy his break. He has certainly earned it.’ Fury nodded and the man who led Peter up opened the door for them. ‘Oh, Parker, we will be in touch.’ And with that Fury was gone. 

Peter stood staring at the door for a moment, before looking at the package. It was light and small, a very unseemly thing. He jumped when he heard his name but calmed when it was just his guide. ‘Come little one.’ He spoke gruffly, gesturing Peter out of the room. Peter pocked the package and followed the man back down to the bathrooms, and with a final look at him, Peter re-joined his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I edited all the chapters, so hopefully, all the glaring imperfections I was too lazy to fix before are now dealt with.


	4. Family

It was very late when Peter decided to finally open the parcel. He had been waiting for the better part of 4 hours for Ned to get off the phone to Betty (who was two doors down!) and go to sleep. Once he was sure Ned wasn’t waking up again anytime soon, Peter went over to the window, opened it and sat on the sill with his feet dangling out. 

The package was a plain white wrapping that shined bright in the moonlight. He opened one side, took a deep breath, and tipped the contents into his other hand. Something heavy covered in cloth fell out, and a piece of paper that he almost fell off the sill trying to grab before it floated away. The paper was folded in half, and Peter almost dropped it again when he opened it and saw who it was from. 

Peter had been invited to the reading of Tony’s Will, but Peter couldn’t find it in him to go. He had doubted that anything would have been left for him so when Happy asked if he wanted to go, he declined. Happy said he would put anything left for him into storage, but when Happy got back he didn’t mention anything, so Peter accepted that he was understandably left nothing.

Yet here he was, holding something that Tony looked at and thought of him. Peter closed his eyes as he felt the tears begin to fall, letting out a shaky breath he looked at the note and read it out softly.

‘Dear Peter,

I don’t know if you’re ever going to get this, or if we’ll find a way to bring you back. I’m sorry. I failed you and that is on me, you should never have been there on that planet, on that ship. But you were and I had to watch you, I had to hold you as you went, and it made me realise a lot of things. 

I love you kid. I don’t get on with other people and I was always afraid of the thought of having my own kid, my own family, but sitting on that planet after everything it made me realise that I already had a kid. I had you. And that scared me because look at what happened when you were with me, I failed, and you had to pay the price. 

You know I was always most scared of turning out like my father. Howard was not the fathering type, he hit hard, and he drank nonstop. But even without those I still ended up like him, I still ended up hurting my family. Not just you but Pepper too. 

She’s pregnant you know. I somehow managed to get back to Earth and she still loved me, and we decided to do it. To just leave it all behind and just be us. And I’m scared again Peter, that I’ll fail her just like Howard failed me. Like I’ll fail her like I failed to protect you. But I’m going to try, I’m going to give her all the love and respect I can physically muster up, I’m going to make sure she knows how much she is loved. 

And I’m going to tell her about you, kid, about how amazing Spider-man was but how even better Peter Parker was. She’s going to know all about you and Peter if we do it, if we find a way to bring you back, you’re going to meet her. I want you in her life, however I can get you. I’ve written everything down, I’m leaving it all to my family if something happens, to Pepper, our child, to Rhodey, and to you Peter. 

You are family kid, never forget that.   
Tony S.’

Peter clutched the letter to his chest, sobbing quietly but unable to hold it in. It didn’t answer everything, but it answered the most important questions Peter had. Tony knew he cared, and Tony cared for him. Peter felt like he was watching Tony die all over again, he felt like his heart was being ripped put, but he also felt better. He felt like he was beginning to heal. He knew he’d have to talk to Happy about it when he got back, and he was going to speak to Pepper, ask if he can meet Morgan properly if he can honour what Tony wanted.

He calmed after a time, he didn’t know how long it had been since he opened the letter, but he refolded it and leaned back into the room to pop it on his bed. He turned his attention to the object and carefully slipped it out of the cloth cover. His breath caught in his chest, they were a pair of glasses, the same style as Tony used to wear. He unfolded them and put them on, breathing in the night air deeply. ‘Tony.’ Peter whispered it under his breath, that one word uttered with such reverence and love. 

‘Good evening Peter.’ Peter smiled and let out a soft chuckle. He expected nothing less from a creation of Tony's, sentience being so easily created by him.   
‘Hi.’ It came out quiet and hoarse from his crying. He sniffled loudly, but the air around him was still and quiet. ‘What’s your name?’   
‘I was built under Mr Stark’s EDITH program, but He named me JARVIS.’ The voice was polite and distinctly British, he made Peter feel safe. ‘It is very late Peter; I do suggest going to bed soon. You have a long day tomorrow.’ As if on cue Peter yawned and he nodded at the suggestion. He climbed back into the room and quietly closed the windows and drew the curtains. He grabbed the letter and stowed it in a very safe inside pocket in his suitcase. 

Peter sat on the bed and murmured a quiet, ‘goodnight JARVIS,’ and smiled softly at the responding, ‘goodnight Peter,’ before removing the glasses, replacing them in the cloth cover and stowing them with the letter. He climbed into bed and fall asleep instantly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't want EDITH to be a weapon or anything in this, I'm more focusing on the emotional side and I think if Tony could he would remake his father figure for his adopted son. So it's a new JARVIS, just as AI and he is Tony's way of making sure that Peter is never alone and a reminder that he is loved. So I'm going to go sob in the corner, I hope it's okay :)


	5. Uomo Ragno

The next day Peter woke up late in the day. When he looked over at Ned’s bed, he found it empty, he flopped back down and rubbed a hand down his face. He felt lighter after reading the letter, like he’d finally let out all of the pain he’d been feeling. It felt nice. 

Peter rolled out of bed and went to clean up before hunting down some food in the hotel’s little kitchenette. He expected that everyone from the trip would be off somewhere, so he was surprised to see Mr Beck sat in the kitchenette with a cup of coffee and an Italian newspaper.

Mr Beck looked up at Peter and smiled, ‘Good morning, Ned said you weren’t feeling well last night so I told him to let you sleep,’ then he went back to his paper.

‘Thanks, you didn’t have to hang about here for me, it’s a holiday for you too.’ Peter felt awkward just standing in the corner, so he went in search of cereal and milk. He could feel Mr Beck’s eyes on his back, and he didn’t turn to meet his gaze until he was ready to sit with his breakfast. Peter was surprised at the inquisitive look on his teachers face. 

‘I can’t leave you here without telling you where we are Peter. And this trip is for you guys, I’ll see Venice again someday.’ Peter nodded at that, not knowing how to respond. Instead, he searched for a way to change the subject. ‘You read Italian?’ He asked a spoonful of his cereal halfway to his mouth.

‘Only a little, I think I’m missing most of what the articles are about, but practice helps. It's nice being able to understand anything, even if it’s only ‘the’ and ‘to be’.’ Beck laid the paper down and took a drink of his coffee, whilst Peter smiled into his cereal. 

Peter looked at Mr Beck, ‘La pratica fa la differenza,’ he laughed at the shocked look on his teachers face. ‘May is part Italian, so I grew up speaking it. I always like it, felt like having a secret language that just the two of us knew.’ Peter explained, smiling wistfully.

Mr Beck laughed and pushed the paper towards Peter. ‘You should read it to me then, in Italian.’ Peter blushed and looked down at the paper. He turned it and began reading the big article on the page.  
‘Una giovane donna è stata attaccata ieri sera da un gruppo di uomini mascherati. Secondo quanto riferito, è stata salvata dall'Uomo Ragno, che l'ha liberata dagli uomini e l'ha incoraggiata a correre in cerca di aiuto. Un turista americano si affrettò a calmarla e a chiedersi cosa fosse successo, le disse di chiamare la polizia prima di correre dietro agli uomini. Non siamo riusciti a trovare quest'uomo per un commento…’ Peter paused and looked up at Mr Beck, who has eyeing him. ‘MJ told me that you helped a lady who was in danger, it is you they’re talking about, isn’t it?’  
Mr Beck nodded, ‘Not all about me though, ‘Uomo-Ragno’ is Spider-Man, right?’ Peter nodded, Mr Beck looked at the table and huffed out a sigh, ‘I helped him too.’

Peter was panicking a little, he had to make it seem like he had no idea what Beck was talking about. But what if he had already figured it out like MJ? ‘Him? What Spider-man?’ Peter forced out a laugh, hoping it sounded normal and not nervous.

Beck looked up again, and if Peter’s stomach did a little flip at his smile nobody had to know. ‘What, you don’t believe me? He was getting his ass kick and I ran in, to the rescue. I mean I basically won the fight for him.’ Mr Beck looked at him with a mischievous glint in his eye and Peter swore his heart skipped a few beats, he smiled wide and pointed at his teacher, ‘you’re screwing me over, aren’t you? That didn’t happen at all. You probably saw all the fighting and swooned like a damsel in distress.’ 

Mr Beck raised a hand to his chest, ‘I am wounded you think so lowly of me Peter.’ They laughed as they continued their breakfast, Peter skimming through the rest of the news quietly. He looked up as Mr Beck moved to wash his cup and blushed again when he spoke. ‘You have a lovely voice Peter; you should speak Italian more.’ 

Peter has no idea why he said it, but his mouth had made the decision to well before his brain had the chance to think it up, ‘I could teach you if you want?’ His heart was hammering, and he heard Mr Beck stop in surprise. ‘I’d like that Peter.’ Then Peter was alone in the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I google translated the Italian so hopefully, it's okay.  
> The article he reads out says this: 'A young woman was attacked last night by a group of masked men. She reportedly was saved by the Spider-Man, who freed her from the men and encouraged her to run for help. An American tourist was quick to calm her and ask what happened, he told her to call the police before he ran after the men. We were unable to find this man for comment.'


	6. We have Begun to Blur, You and I

Peter returned to his room and got dressed. He debated taking the glasses but decided he should get to know JARVIS, and let him see the world, rather than just stay stuck in his case. Mind made up he grabbed the glasses and left. He was rather hoping to bump into Mr Beck again, so he wouldn’t have to go looking for him, and was glad he found the man standing near the doorway. Mr Beck looked up as Peter descended the stairs and smiled. 

‘Good afternoon Peter, you ready to go?’ Peter smiled confusedly at his teacher, ‘go?’ he asked.

‘We have planned to visit St Mark’s Basilica at two, so the rest should be there by the time we walk up.’ Mr Beck gestured at the door, indicating for Peter to go first, so he walked through the door putting his glasses on. JARVIS wished him a good afternoon and Peter was surprised when the lenses darkened. Mr Beck looked at him for a moment before they started down the pathway. 

‘So, Peter, have you ever visited Italy before?’ Mr Beck asked, guiding them through the city. Peter made eye contact with him and shrugged, ‘No, before the Stark internship I had never been out of Queens.’

‘Before? Where did you go on the Stark internship?’ The man was genuinely interested, and Peter decided he like someone being interested in him. ‘Mr Stark flew me out to Germany, but that’s pretty much it.’ Peter chose not to add outer space as a Stark/Parker excursion destination. Mr Beck nodded and pointed Peter down a little side path.

‘What about you? Have you visited Italy before?’ Peter was very curious about the other man but tried for a casual tone. ‘I have, my mother was German-Italian. She died when I was a kid, so I visit and try to learn the languages, makes me feel closer to her.’ Beck smiled sadly at him, and Peter moved to bump their shoulders. 

‘I get you, my parents died when I was little but there are, like, fragments of them both that I remember. Like when I walk past the botanical gardens, I can feel them, remember wisps of a picnic and my chest aches but in a really good way. And I am totally rambling.’ Peter broke off with a laugh and Mr Beck smiled back, he moved closer and bumped Peter’s shoulder. 

They walked in silence for the rest of the journey, and when they reached the rest of the class Peter was swept away by Ned and MJ, while Mr Beck went over to Flash and told him he shouldn’t be live-streaming a class trip. They made eye contact and Mr Beck rolled his eyes with a smile, before going to the information desk. Peter’s attention was drawn back to MJ when she asked if he was okay, ‘you look flushed.’ He shook his head and assured her he was fine.

They spent a few hours going around the Basilica, the tour guide explaining all the history of the different architecture and art pieces. Peter was fascinated by the whole building, and when the guide had concluded, he began asking questions. They stood together talking back and forth in Italian about little interesting tidbits and myths surrounding certain areas. 

Mr Beck had joined in after Peter’s third question, not really asking anything himself but listening to both of them speak. When the guide excused herself both men walked around some of the exhibits not covered in the tour. When he thought Mr Beck wasn’t looking, Peter would steal glances, admiring how the coloured light from the stained-glass windows would dance across his skin and how he would absentmindedly run his hand across his cheeks while he read. Peter was mesmerised by the other man and not just because he was attractive, this was the man that ran to help when a woman was being hurt. He cared about his students and he tried to engage with them, to make sure they were alright. He was a good man, not a hero or a god or anything like the other adults Peter spent time with, he was just good because he was. And when Mr Beck looked back at him and just stared into his eyes Peter felt at peace. 

And of course, because the universe hates him, that’s when the ground began to shake. Peter’s arms flew out and Mr Beck grabbed him, both holding on through the tremor trying not to fall. When it had past, Mr Beck asked if he was alright, before moving around to make sure everyone else was. Peter took the chance to talk to JARVIS.  
‘JARVIS what was that?’ Peter moved to help some of the other tourists in the room, making sure no one was hurt. ‘An earthquake sir, it appears that this is a common occurrence in this region.’ Peter moved off in search of his friends, ‘So it was normal, nothing sinister?’ He caught sight of the rest of his class down the hall and made for them when the ground shook again, much harder than before.   
Peter hit the ground, as did a lot of the others in the corridor, and when he tried to get up, he was hit from above by falling debris. It hurt but thankfully he wasn’t conscious long enough to feel it.


	7. Anyway The Wind Blows

When he came to there wasn’t much Peter could see. The debris that had fallen had made a little pocket around him. Peter coughed pushing some of the loose rock of himself and pushed up into a seated position. His head spun with the movement and the dust in the air made it hard to breathe. 

He was fairly intact considering what had happened. He couldn’t feel much in the way of pain besides the thudding of his head, but that was passing quickly thanks to his super healing. Though dazed he was able to focus on what he needed to do, which was to get out and find out what was happening. There was no way it was just an earthquake. 

With a start Peter’s hand flew to his face, the glasses weren’t there. Panic bubbled up inside him, the thought of losing them was too much, he scrabbled around the floor hoping he’d somehow find them. With a gasp, his hand clutched around them and he quickly put them on, praying they weren’t too badly damaged. 

Relief washed through him when he heard JARVIS speak, ‘Mr Parker, sir, are you alright?’ The English voice soothed him, and Peter relaxed against the wall.  
‘I’m fine JARVIS, what the hell happened?’ He coughed again, inhaling the dust he’d kicked up from moving. ‘It appears the building fell on you sir.’ The apathetic voice made Peter laugh and he murmured a ‘no shit’ back.

‘There appears to be a phone call for you sir.’ Peter had no time to process this before JARVIS patched the call through.

‘Peter? Are you alright? Where are you?’ MJ’s scared voice filled the silence, and Peter’s head spun. ‘I’m fine MJ, do you know what’s happening?’ He could hear her coughing and the rustling of her clothes,   
‘MJ?’

‘I’m not too sure what’s happening Peter, there’s this huge thing and god Peter I don’t know.’ Peter took a deep breath, he had to get out there and do something. ‘It’s okay MJ, is everyone else okay?’ He could tell she was beginning to cry, not that he blamed her, ‘I think so, Mr Beck said the only person unaccounted for was you. I told him I saw you before the building… God Peter, I think he went to find you.’

Peter closed his eyes, of course, the man couldn’t just stay safe. ‘MJ, I need to go, I’m okay, stay safe.’ He heard her say goodbye and the line went dead. He sat in the silence for a moment before getting up and asking JARVIS to assess the room for any exits or weak points. Peter put his web-shooters on, glad he had thought to bring them and waited for JARVIS’ report. 

There was one spot that seemed to be free from and debris above it that wasn’t acting in any structurally important way. If Peter was able the hit it with enough force, he would be able to dislodge it and get out. Using his webs, he created a slingshot thing, and JARVIS calculated that there should be enough room to work. He stretched the webs back until his back hit the opposite wall, using his spider grip to keep himself there while he lined up the shot. When he released, he hit the stone with his feet, dislodging it almost completely, and fell on the ground. He bounced back up and kicked at it until it slid out of place and there was a space just big enough that he could slip through. 

Once through he was hit with how loud it was, people screaming, the sound of movement as people ran and sirens. He could also hear something massive moving about, most likely in the canal considering he could hear splashing sounds. He ran to a huge hole that had once been a wall and saw the chaos. The courtyard of the Basilica was empty of people but full of chunks of buildings. He couldn’t see the creature, but JARVIS was able to quickly locate where the fighting was.

‘Fighting? Who’s fighting the monster JARVIS?’ Peter was running as fast as he could, following JARVIS’ directions. ‘I believe it is Doctor Strange sir.’ Peter was really glad there was someone doing something, and Dr Strange was a pretty cool dude. 

‘Is there any way I can help?’ He was only huffing a little as he turned a corner, almost falling over when he finally saw the monster. ‘You aren’t in a suit sir; I would not suggest engaging until you are.’ Peter watched as Dr Strange came barrelling towards him after being punched by the creature. Once he had landed Peter ran to him, carefully peaking over his shoulder with a quiet ‘hi.’

‘What the hell are you doing here Peter?’ Dr Strange looked very shocked at his presence, but Peter just shrugged his shoulders and smiled. ‘I’m on holiday, are you okay? Do you need any help, cuz I don’t have my suit, but I could probably think something up and help?’ 

Dr Strange shook his head, ‘Peter, go back to your group. Wong and I have this sorted just keep yourself safe.’ With that the man got up and re-joined the fight, leaving Peter sat in the courtyard looking dejected.

With JARVIS’ encouragement, he got moving again, seeking out his friends, when he remembered what MJ had said. ‘Wait, JARVIS, did MJ not say that Mr Beck wasn’t with them?’ The world seemed to slow down as Peter said this, he found it difficult to focus on anything, the smoke and destruction making his head spin. ‘I believe she did mention something of the sort, but sir, we would have no way to find him.’ 

Peter took a deep breath, ‘We have to try JARVIS,’ Peter was shocked at how broken his voice sounded. He heard JARVIS make a non-committal noise before guiding him back to the Basilica, in case his teacher was still there looking for him there.

It was quiet as he moved with the fighting well away from this area now, as well as the people. What sound there was in the area, was drowned out by the roaring sound in Peter’s ears, the anxiously fast and loud beat of his own heart. He couldn’t stop the what if’s flitting through his mind as he moved through the destruction. What if he got hurt, looking for Peter? What if he was stuck somewhere? What if he was injured, what if he was dead? With each thought, Peter pushed himself fasted, further. He was determined to find his teacher in one safe piece. 

Stumbling back into the building Peter began shouting, the only response he got being the echo of his own calls. He tripped and stumbled on the uneven ground, making his way through each room, looking for anyone who needed help, but it looked like the building had been cleared of people. After Peter fell for the third time, he found a rock to lean against and let the dread wash through him. 

It had only been a few minutes before he heard movement down the hallway, rocks being scattered, and a very familiar voice shout out a desperate ‘Peter!’ Peter laughed, stumbling into the corridor and almost crying out of relief at the sight of a very dusty Mr Beck. They looked at each other for a long moment before rushing to each other, Mr Beck pulling him into a tight embrace. 

‘Jesus Peter, I thought…’ Mr Beck breathed out a sob, pulling the boy closer to himself. ‘I’m so glad you’re okay kid.’ Peter hid his face in his teacher’s hoodie, ignoring the trickle of tears that escaped. ‘I thought so too.’ He whispered, holding on to the other man for dear life.


	8. Hold Me While You Wait

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanna say thank you to everyone who's reading and commenting, you're all awsome and encouraging and I'm glad you guys are liking the story. <3 <3

Nobody wanted to be alone once they got back to the hotel, so they camped in the common area in their pyjamas and their pillows and covers, drinking hot chocolate someone was stress making in the kitchen. There had been many tear-filled calls home, and Peter was glad to hear May’s voice and though he was surprised by Happy’s, he was glad his Aunt had someone with her while he was away.

Peter found he couldn’t stay focused on the conversations his friends were having, his mind, as well as his eyes, drifting to his teacher. Peter couldn’t stop himself from seeking the other man out as he moved around the room. Mr Beck had been on the phone since they’d gotten back, talking to someone about the remaining time of the trip no doubt, and Peter was enthralled as he moved his arms in frustration through his hair and on his hips. He couldn’t help but watch the line of his neck as he stretched back, sighing in defeat. 

When he finally hung up, he just stared at the group and Peter wished he knew what the man was thinking. A shiver went down Peter’s spine when his gaze fell on him, and he could do nothing but stare back until the other man looked away. Mr Harrington was fast asleep on the couch and Peter could see the irritation in the way Mr Beck eyed him, and Peter agreed that it was unfair that everything had been dumped on Mr Beck rather than Mr Harrington. 

‘Right everyone, so the school say that our best option is to continue with the trip, and thankfully we’ll be headed to Paris tomorrow. So, I want everyone to get a good night’s rest and to make sure everything’s packed. And if you need to talk, I’m here.’ He waited a moment for questions before turning the lights off, grabbing his pillow and laying them next to Peter. 

Peter watched as Mr Beck sat and wrapped himself up and rolled over, facing away from Peter. Peter rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling, listening as the quiet conversations slowly died off one by one as people fell asleep. He felt warm, even though it was a cool night, almost like the heat of the man next to him was seeping into his skin. 

Sleep eluded him, so Peter turned in the hopes of getting comfortable, and was surprised to see Mr Beck also turn to face him, fully awake. The man smiled at him and Peter felt the rush of heat, flushing as he smiled back.

‘Hi.’ Peter breathed, hoping everyone else was asleep.

‘Hey.’ Peter felt his heart flutter as the other man smiled at him. 

They didn’t speak beyond that, just fluttered between looking at each other and trying to sleep. They could hear the rustle of someone rolling over and the gentle flow of music from another room. Peter was almost asleep when he heard Mr Beck laugh softly, and he looked up when the man began to softly sing along with the music. 

‘My love, my love, my love, my love. Won't you stay awhile?’ Mr Beck smiled at Peter as he sang and Peter couldn’t help but stretch out his hand, tracing his arm lightly with his fingertips. He continued singing, his own hand tracing gently over Peter's face, Peter couldn’t fight it as his eyes closed at the touch. 

When the song was over Peter opened his eyes again and the soft expression on the other mans face made his heart skip a beat. Peter moved without thinking, pressing his lips lightly but firmly on the other man’s, before pulling back and eyeing him warily. He relaxed when Mr Beck leaned forward and captured his lips again. It was short and sweet and everything Peter wanted in his first kiss. When they broke apart Peter was smiling, and Mr Beck pulled him over to lay on this chest, running his hand through Peter’s hair as he hummed a lullaby. Peter stroked his hip where his hand rested, drifting off to sleep.


	9. Through the Dark We Search for Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter is 17. So be warned if that bothers you.

Quentin hadn’t expected much when Roger had cornered him in the science staff room, the man had a habit of cornering people and telling them about the sad parts of his life. So, Quentin had braced himself for a long story, but the man only pleaded with him to go on the trip as the second teacher. Quentin tried not to look back with regret, but this monumental moment pulled at him. If he hadn’t agreed to go, he could be at home right now, lazing around his apartment with Oscar purring in the corner. Or on his own trip to Germany, visiting the places that reminded him of his mum. 

But no. Here he is stuck in some rundown, cheap hostel on the phone with some apathetic moron of a principle who says they don’t have the money to fly them home, and that the deposits are non-refundable. So, they were stuck in a place that wasn’t safe with no way home. 

When he looked at everyone huddled in the cramped sitting room, all cuddled up with each other and other guests, it panged his heart. They really had no luck. Though he wasn’t there he was aware of the disastrous trip to DC that some of these kids had been on, then the Blip and now this. This was meant to be a fun experience, but it wasn’t turning out that way.

And not that Quentin was an advocate for violence, but he would happily give Roger a kick. This was his trip, but he was happily conked out on the couch, leaving everyone else to deal and dumping all the phone calls home to Quentin. The man was exhausting at the best of times, but he was starting to get on Quentin’s nerves, and they’d only been away a few days. 

He could feel a weariness seep under his skin. Exhaustion over babysitting everyone and dealing with big monsters as well as human ones. He didn’t know what compelled him to do it. He felt like another person as he got comfortable and waited for something to happen. He closed his eyes while he listened to the dying chatter, saw muscles and determination and hurt. They were two people but in his tired mind they overlapped, and he could imagine Peter, swathed in red, and in his mind's eye, he could see him peeling in away to see the boy he wanted to see. 

The rustling behind him is what set him off, along with his thought, had him turning to see soft brown eyes staring back. It felt like everything that caused him to stress melted away at that moment, a deep sense of calm setting around them both. Quentin didn’t think, just did, and when Peter moved closer and kissed him, time stopped around them, and he couldn’t stop himself from reciprocating and drawing him closer. He had never felt so light and he sank easily into the sensation, with Peter at his side. 

When Quentin awoke it was to a feeling of calm and warmth. The room was quiet, so he burrowed into the warmth and almost drifted off when panic surged through him. He tensed and looked down at the boy in his arms, because he was just a boy, and he couldn’t deny he was freaking out. Everything about this was wrong, he was still young, Quentin was a teacher, Peter was emotional and there were probably a hundred other things. 

He took a deep breath and slowly moved out from under the boy, quietly retreating to the kitchen. It was dark outside still, so he just stood, staring out of the window, trying to figure out what he did and how he was going to fix it. He was so zoned out he missed the sounds of someone else entering the kitchen, so he startled when they cleared their throat. Quentin jumped around, heart-stopping when he saw a despondent Peter stood in the frame.

He flushed at the sight of the boy, he had an early morning softness to him, his hair stuck up randomly in some places but that just made his hand itch to reach out and smooth them down. He wanted to cheer him up, make him smile like he did the night before. Against his better belief (the one driven by the educator in him) he reached out to the boy and enveloped him in a hug. 

They stood for a moment, quietly embraced, before Peter pulled away looking at Quentin. ‘I’m not sorry.’ He looked almost defiant, waiting for Quentin to say something bad about what they did. This made Quentin chuckle, and he could imagine how obvious the affection on his face was. 

‘There’s nothing to be sorry about Peter. You did nothing wrong.’ He looked away from the boy, hoping the implication was clear. He was shocked when the boy punched his shoulder and was surprised at the anger in his eyes. ‘You didn’t do anything wrong either! I kissed you first, I did!’

‘That’s not how it works Peter, and I know you know that.’ Quentin watched as Peter’s shoulders slumped in defeat, and it hurt to watch him lose the fight. ‘But who cares if it does.’ Peter almost whispered it, so different from his anger from moments ago. Quentin didn’t know why he felt like this, he barely knew the kid, but he wanted him in every way he could have him. He wanted long walks through foreign cities and morning cuddles, and this was surprising. He had never felt this way before. 

‘Peter you’re too young for this…’ Quentin was ready for the fight, and he saw the change in Peter as he geared to argue back. ‘I’m not too young, why do people always say that!’

‘Peter, your 17, no matter what you think, I know you’re too young.’ Quentin lowered his voice, conscious of the fact they weren’t completely alone. ‘I’ve already died once, I’ve done things you could never imagine, the only person who knows if I’m ready is me.’ Peter’s argument silenced Quentin, ‘I could die at any moment, Tony died to give me a second chance! I’m not wasting that.’ Quentin could do nothing to stop the boy as he advanced on him, but he was surprised when he spoke instead of acting.

‘Tell me to stop.’ Peter was staring at him but to Quentin, it felt like the boy could see through him. Quentin closed his eyes in defeat, ‘Peter…’ he tried but they could both hear the lack of conviction. ‘Quentin.’ He opened his eyes when Peter spoke, taking the time to nod his ascent before they crashed together. Quentin knew this wasn’t the situation fixed but he could ignore it if it meant he could hold Peter for now.


	10. Teacher's Pet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They have some fun times on the way to Paris.

They got a bus to Paris, a long affair for the class but Mr Harrington happily took charge of keeping them entertained on the journey. Constantly getting the driver to pull over so they could take pictures, Peter couldn’t get too annoyed as it gave ample times for him to sneak up to Quentin and kiss him, hold his hand, or send him looks that he hoped looked sexy. They seemed to work for Quentin as he always reciprocated in kind with a smile or a laugh, and Peter could see his eyes darken with lust which made him shiver. On the bus, everyone else sat towards the middle and back, and Quentin happily volunteered to stay up the front with Peter in case he was sick, forcing Mr Harrington to take a seat at the back when they entered France. 

Once it got late and everyone was asleep, Quentin turned to Peter and crowded him up against the glass to kiss him senseless. Peter let his arms wrap around his teacher, pulling him closer and into the space made by his widening legs. They stayed like that for some time, Peter whimpering quietly and grabbing at Quentin’s hair and shirt so he could pull him closer. Quentin had his arms wrapped around Peter’s waist, occasionally tickling him to hear him gasp and mewl, he tried to stay still but every so often he would grind forward and let out a low grunt at the pressure he got on his dick. 

He wasn’t going to go further than making out because Peter deserved a nice bed for their first time together (and probably his first time at all). But he also wanted Peter to feel good and to enjoy himself. So pulling back a little, smiling when Peter chased his lips with a whine, he bit at Peter’s ear and whispered in his ear. He felt Peter’s affirmative groan reverberate through his chest, as well as his hips stutter against his stomach. 

Quentin recaptured the boys’ lips before freeing his right hand. He flicked Peter’s nipples through his shirt a few times then lightly guided it down. Peter kept wriggling and whining into the kiss, before breaking off to bite into the material of Quentin’s shirt at his shoulder in the hopes of muffling his sounds. Quentin could help his huff of laughter at the boys’ actions, and at Peter’s loud moan when Quentin traced a thumb down his clothed erection. Quentin stopped a moment to make sure no one was woken, and once he deemed them safe, he slowly started unzipping Peter’s trousers. He also started sucking hickeys into the boys’ neck, popping the button and softly stroking the top part of Peter’s trapped cock. Peter was bucking into the touch and mumbling stuff into Quentin’s shoulder. 

He lowly said Peter’s name, drawing his gaze, and silently asked if he was okay. Peter nodded, whispering ‘do it, please,’ into Quentin’s ear as he resumed his attempt to stay quiet. Not wanting to leave the boy waiting, Quentin dipped his hand under Peter’s boxers and grabbed his cock and rubbed the wet head for a moment. Peter let out a gasping sound like he’d been punched, and shivered at the touch, trying to move into it and away at the same time. Quentin started moving his hand the best he could with the limited space, whispering obscenities into the skin under Peter’s ear. 

He could feel the boy tense on his upstrokes and as he worked his cock over and over, he could feel him begin to shake as his orgasm approached. He slowed his hand just before Peter could cum, giving him the chance to calm before moving again. As he moved, he couldn’t stop himself whispering in the boys’ ear. 

‘I can’t wait to take you, Peter, to fuck you full of my cum till your stomach is stretched with it.’ Peter moaned at the imagery, and Quentin felt his cock twitch at the thought. This went on and on until Quentin finally let him shudder into his orgasm, Peter’s legs locked around his waist and drawing him into the splash zone. He gave Peter time to come down from his high, lightly petting the skin of his navel while watching in fascination as the tight muscles twitched at the touch. 

Once back with the land of the living Peter muttered ‘fuck me,’ and Quentin laughed. 

‘That is the plan Mr Parker. How do you feel?’ He continued stroking Peter’s skin, enjoying the satisfied sigh it pulled from the boy. Peter dragged him into another kiss, which was soft and relaxed. 

‘I feel good, like really good. I could get used to this.’ He smiled dopily and Quentin moved to stroke the hair out of Peter’s face, kissing him again and again and again. Peter giggled and swatted him away playfully.

‘I’m glad you liked it, now I think it’s time for you to get some sleep. I’m just gonna clean us up first.’ Peter nodded sleepily, so Quentin got on with grabbing a dirty shirt out of the bag under his seat, gently running it over Peter’s soft cock and gathering the rest of his mess. When he looked back up Peter was sound asleep, so he tucked him back into his trousers and settled in to sleep himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I didn't expect to writ smut but it happened so what the hell! Thanks to everyone who has commented, you're all the very best xx


	11. A New Day

Peter couldn’t believe they had done that on the bus, where anyone might have seen or heard them. But a small part of him had enjoyed the thrill of it, but he was gonna leave processing that for another time. Once he’d been gentle nudged awake the next morning it had been to the sight of the Parisian streets as the bus slowly ambled its way through early morning traffic. Quentin had smiled at him before getting up and talking to the bus driver, leaving Peter to stare at the sights. 

Thinking about the night before made Peter’s stomach flip and he could feel the flush on his cheeks, so he tried to dampen those thoughts before they caused him any more issues. Behind him he could hear low murmurs as the others woke up. He really didn’t know how he would look either MJ or Ned in the face without turning bright red. 

Peter sensed Quentin’s return and turned to smile at him, gesturing out the window he pointed at one of the buildings, ‘It all looks so different from Queen’s.’ He heard Quentin chuckle and his hand press gently to his lower back as the other man leaned forward to see better out the window. 

‘It definitely looks cleaner than back home.’ Quentin mused, thumb rubbing lightly over Peter’s shirt. ‘I always liked how old the buildings look, so different from the concrete jungle of the cities.’ Peter nodded in agreement and moved his hand so it lay against Quentin’s thigh, looking at the man innocently as he did so. Quentin just raised his eyebrow suggestively, and Peter only wished he had that much control over his face. It was hot on so many levels. 

Peter was so absorbed in looking at Quentin that he jumped when Mr Harrington popped into view, quickly snatching his hand back and moving away from Quentin. Thankfully Mr Harrington seemed entirely oblivious to what they had been doing and started rambling off to Quentin about what they were doing that day. As if Quentin didn’t already know it all, and had it all organised. 

At their talk about getting breakfast before going to the hotel, Peter stomach let out a loud growl that made Quentin laugh. ‘Looks like that’s decided, breakfast for the troops first.’ He and Mr Harrington moved to the front of the bus to talk to the driver, so Peter got up and we to talk to his friends. 

Ned, rather predictably, was still sound asleep so Peter sat next to MJ, who was reading a book. ‘Morning, sleep okay?’ MJ smiled at him, and Peter felt himself flush as his mind went straight back to what he’d done last night. He stuttered out a ‘yeah’ but by MJ’s look he knew she was curious. 

‘I just wish I could come hang out with you guys, ya know?’ He said, hoping it was a plausible lie. MJ still looked suspicious but nodded, ‘Yeah, it’s a shame but at least you’re stuck with Mr Beck and not Mr Harrington. He just kept talking and talking, I didn’t know people were able to over share that much.’ She laughed and Peter joined in, feeling lighter than he had in a while.

‘God, I can imagine. I’m very happy with Qu- Mr Beck sitting with me. He’s a great guy.’ He didn’t look at MJ, knowing she definitely heard his slip up but didn’t want to see her look. ‘I think we’re getting breakfast first, I really wanna try some authentic French croissants.’

They were interrupted from talking anymore by Flash, who woke up everyone that was still asleep, running to the front of the bus shouting about going to some café or something. Ned punched his shoulder in greeting before getting absorbed into conversation with Betty. They were certainly a strange couple but Peter could begrudge him for it, they all got blipped, they all had lives to be getting on with. 

MJ had to nudge him when the bus stopped, so he went back to his stuff grabbing a jumper and some money, then joined MJ outside the café. It was a very quaint one, authentic and homey. Peter could imagine living here, coming to small cafés where they know him and his order and they help him with his french. It was the first time since coming back that he’d pictured his future, after everything that had happened, after losing Tony, he had felt like he didn’t deserve a future. He felt hopeful again, like he really was getting better. 

‘Hey, Pete, are you okay?’ He looked over at MJ’s worried face, ‘you look like your gonna cry or something?’ He smiled at her concern.

‘I’m okay, I just realised something I guess. A good something, it just comes from sad stuff.’ He rubbed the back of his head, it was a really back explanation but she looked like she understood what he meant. 

‘Well then, to good things and happy futures.’ She held out her cup of hot chocolate and Peter couldn’t help but laugh as he tapped his own against it, echoing a happy ‘to the future.’ He was glad he had MJ as a friend, she was going to be a really sensible addition to his little Spider-Team, although he can imagine how annoyed Happy is gonna be when he finds out another person knows. Getting back to being Spider-Man when they get back home is going to be so fun, Happy had mentioned something about him getting to make a new suit and that alone sounded awesome as hell. So having MJ and Ned to tell about his little exploits is gonna be totally awesome. 

They got to walk over to the hotel and Peter just listened to his friends talk as he took some photos for his Aunt. He fell behind but smiled when he noticed Quentin standing waiting for him. He stuck his phone out and smiled, ‘take a photo of me, please?’ Quentin rolled his eyes but took the phone with a smile. 

‘Smile, 3, 2, 1. There you go, looking great.’ Quentin winked and Peter felt his cheeks go red, realising that he hasn’t showered or cleaned up at all since last night. 

‘God, why didn't you say I looked bad?’ He grabbed the phone to check the photo but was surprised with how okay he looked. He looked up at Quentin who was laughing at him, ‘I told you Pete, you look great.’ He put his arm around Peter’s shoulders and tugged him along so they’d catch up with everyone else. ‘Besides you would look amazing if I took photos of you during.’ He whispered as they joined everyone, walking away to the doors of the hotel as Peter spluttered behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s been a while but I’m baaaaack, for now at least.


	12. How the Tide has Turned

Once they had finally made it to the hotel Peter made sure he was first in the shower and freshened up. Taking the time to be alone to think about stuff he really couldn’t believe what had happened on the bus had happened. He could barely believe that Quentin was real, let alone having anything to do with him. He could see his cheeks going red at the mere thought of what they did as he styled his hair in the mirror. He felt great though, like things were looking up. 

It was a very sunny afternoon, so Peter grabbed the glasses, JARVIS, on his way out the door. The AI seemed very chipper.

‘Good afternoon Peter, I hope you slept well.’ Peter chuckled as he descended the stairs. As far as he could tell everyone else was outside.

‘Hi, JARVIS. I did, well, as well as you can on a bus.’ JARVIS let out a sound that Peter could only call knowing, which made him flush again. ‘Oh shush J.’ Peter chuckled, and he could feel himself smiling hard. 

‘Someone is very happy after his shower.’ The new voice made Peter jump in surprise, turning wide-eyed to face a smiling Quentin. ‘Nice shades, you suit them.’ 

‘I, uh, thanks. They… were a gift.’ Peter looked away, scratching his neck in embarrassment. Quentin sighed and Peter grimaced but was very surprised when he felt a hand on his cheek lifting his gaze, so they were eye to eye. Peter gulped and Quentin smiled at him, gently caressing Peter’s face with his thumb. 

‘You don’t have to say anything, kid, but if you ever wanna talk, about anything, I’m here.’ He looked at Peter for a few seconds more, before pulling him into a tight hug.  
Peter smiled wetly, ‘Thanks,’ before burrowing tightly into Quentin’s hug, enjoying the comfort and feeling of safety. 

They were left to their own adventures, but everyone followed the same path to the Eiffel Tower and nearby shops. Peter followed behind Ned and Betty, listening to JARVIS as he detailed the history of where they were and funny anecdotes of Tony. He occasionally noticed people side-eyeing him, but he ignored it, chatting back with JARVIS and laughing freely. 

They all waited in the queue for the Eiffel Tower, which felt never-ending. Ned and Betty were busy taking lots of pictures and MJ had her nose stuck in a book, so Peter took the chance to call May. She sounded very happy and that made Peter smile.

‘Peter! Oh my god, how’s the trip? Having fun?’ He heard rustles as she moved about, and quiet background chatter.

‘Hey May, the trip is going great, we’re having a lot of fun. What about you, how are you doing?’ They bantered back and forth, May telling him how Happy was doing and what she’d been up to and Peter shared about what they’d been up to, missing out on a few of the details. 

‘Oh, that's me about to go up now, I’ll call you later tell you how it was.’ He moved forward with Ned and MJ. They said goodbye and Peter snapped a few photos of the architecture and of him and his friends. When he got to the top Peter was speechless, he had been high up plenty of times but being able to see miles and miles of Paris was pretty amazing. It reminded him of flying into space, seeing all the buildings and people get smaller and smaller. 

He sensed someone at his elbow and smiled when they leaned their head on his shoulder, short brown hair tickling his face. ‘You look like you love it up here.’ Peter could feel the words vibrate through Quentin’s chest and he smiled.

‘I do love it up here, feels like I’m on top of the world and nothing can touch me.’ Peter wrapped his arm around Quentin’s waist, ‘you make me feel like that too.’ He heard Quentin take in a sharp breath.

‘Peter…’ he paused, seemingly lost in thought. Quentin stood up straight, and Peter missed his presence immediately, ‘I’ve been thinking, this is… I shouldn’t have done this Peter, you’re too young and I’m your teacher.’ 

Peter kept looking out at Paris, ignoring the tears beginning to well in his eyes, ‘I’m not too young, everyone keeps saying that but it’s not true. I’ve done things, seen things you’d never understand, I…’ he cut himself off, feeling his voice give up. 

‘I’m sorry Peter.’ Quentin sounded rough too, and when Peter looked at him his eyes were red. ‘This is my fault and that alone is the reason we can’t do this.’ Peter choked out a sob that had Quentin turning and drawing him into a hug. JARVIS beeped quietly in his ears and Peter whispered a quiet ‘I’m fine’, but Quentin heard. He stepped back, holding Peter’s shoulders, ‘you’re not fine Peter, and I tried to help you and instead of doing it right, doing it professionally, I took advantage of you, of the fact you’re not in the right headspace and now I’m hurting you. I screwed up.’ 

He let go and took another step back. ‘I want you to go to Mr Harrington if you need anything, he’ll sit with you on the bus. And Peter when we get back, I want you to tell your Aunt what I did,’ Peter stepped forward defiance on his face, but Quentin put his hand up, keeping him back, ‘No Peter. You’ll tell her and she’ll do the right thing for you.’ He stood a moment, hand still touching Peter’s shoulder before he turned and left. Peter felt more tears fall as he watched him go, felt his breathing get hard and he began to pant desperately.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see a lady looking at him with concern, but he pushed her off and made for the way out. He felt a hand grab his wrist and he was tugged all the way down and back onto the street. The hand dragged him to a bench, and it shoved his head down between his knees and he could hear two voices talking in a low soothing way. After a minute Peter could decern JARVIS’ gentle tone telling him the time and weather, whilst the hand began rubbing up and down his back. MJ’s voice came in to focus soon after, guiding him to take deep breaths. 

‘I screwed up MJ,’ it came out as a gasp and he could feel her grip tighten on him, ‘I messed up bad.’ He grasped onto her jumper, hiding his face into her shoulder as he cried. She held him and rocked slightly back and forth, giving him time to calm down. 

When his crying had turned into hiccups, MJ sat back looking at his red face. ‘Talk to me Parker, what happened?’ He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, shaking his head.

‘I can’t, not right now.’ She nodded and look of understanding on her face. ‘Can we go back to the hotel?’ He sounded as uncertain as he felt like she would say no and leave him there, but MJ just smiled and picked up their bags, interlocking their arms and chatting away the whole trip back. It was normalcy and he was very thankful for it.


	13. Quentin Thinks

Peter’s face would be forever burned into Quentin’s memory, but it had to be done. It was a major lapse in judgement that he didn’t even understand, he was a teacher for crying out loud. He had just been swept away by the boy, bewitched by him and the brilliant mind he had. In the end, it was a mistake, one Peter would be dealing with for a long time.

He’d been talking with Roger, well more trying to get away while the other man just rambled on and on. He had been talking about his wife, something about her pretending to blip, and it hit him. Peter had blipped, had come back unchanged still young and still essentially a kid. A grieving kid, who looked beautiful when he cried. And what had he done, what had Mr Beck, the man who prided himself on being a good man and a great teacher, done? He’d abused the kid, taken advantage of Peter who had just lost the man he considered his father figure. 

He had been snapped out of thought by Roger who looked at him with concern, ‘Are you okay? You’ve gone deathly pale, maybe you should sit down.’ He’d nodded, still dazed by his realisation. Harrington just hovered over his shoulder, quiet for the first time on the trip. 

Quentin just sighed, finding his face in his hands trying to process what he’d done. ‘I’ve messed up, big time.’ He didn’t know why he said anything, he just wanted someone else to talk to. 

‘Well, when I mess up which is a lot of the time, actually that’s what happened with my wife. I was just glad that we found out the truth, to deal with the fact I’d failed her. Her mom was on my side at least…’ 

He’d ignored him after that and realised the best thing to do would be put a stop to it. 

He knew the kids were all aiming to go to the Eiffel Tower, figured that the sooner the better. But standing there and seeing Peter leaning against the railing made his chest hurt in ways he didn’t want to think about. He hadn’t meant to touch him, but he’d been drawn in by the boy, resting his head on his shoulder. He could have stayed there in that moment for the rest of time, just the two of them. It hurt to pull away, to look at Peter and hurt him. But he had too, and he did. 

He felt awful leaving Peter there, but he knew it was for the best. He’d already ruined the kids’ life and his career. He only hoped Peter would do what he said when they got home. He deserved to be held responsible for his actions, and he knew Peter wouldn’t do anything to get anyone in trouble. Peter’s Aunt would do what was right, she was an amazing woman who would do everything for Peter. 

Now he just had to get through the last few days on the trip. He didn’t necessarily trust Roger to deal with things, but he couldn’t trust himself to do it. He just returned to the hotel and hid from everyone, hoping he wouldn’t be needed for a few hours.


	14. Home

The last three days of the trip went by in a blur for Peter. He couldn’t find the words to explain it to MJ, so he suffered through her quiet and concerned looks. After the Eiffel Towner Peter had gone straight to bed, MJ curling up beside him as he sobbed. He was thankful for her being there, glad that she didn’t force him to talk, just held him and ran a soothing hand through his hair. 

He’d vaguely heard the door open sometime later the sky dark outside. He’d stopped crying hours ago but just lay there comatose and staring at the wall. He’d heard mumbling but couldn’t focus enough to decern any words. The person seemed to walk away then return before closing the door, MJ had moved to speak with them and returned to the bed with a bottle of water and a chocolate bar. 

He’d fallen asleep not too long after that, lulled by the quiet sounds of people on the street and the occasional sound of MJ turning the page of her book. He’d woken up the next morning with a blanket over him and he’d notice MJ fast asleep in Ned’s bed, and Ned passed out on the floor with a pillow and blanket of his own. 

He had felt absolutely awful. He just felt numb now, as if he’d cried so hard and long that he’d emptied himself out like he’d never feel anything ever again really. MJ had placed his glasses on the bedside table, so he’d put them on and quietly asked JARVIS to tell him a story. He fell asleep like that, JARVIS lulling him back to sleep.

They were going to the airport now, going home. Peter felt like the walking dead, knew he looked it too, but he had no energy to fix anything. He must have looked bad enough that even Flash took pity in him and said nothing when he, Ned and MJ emerged for breakfast. MJ, Ned and Betty did all the talking, acting as if everything was normal and fine which eased Peter. He hated when people walked on tiptoes around him and after he’d yelled at Ned two days before for it, they’d gone back into as normal a routine as they could. 

Mr Harrington was flitting from table to table, making sure everyone was packed and ready to leave. He’d eyed Peter suspiciously once he’d reached them, he could clearly see there was something off, but he didn’t ask or comment before he disappeared off to the next table. Mr Beck was nowhere to be seen. 

The man appeared to have a very good disappearing act because Peter hadn’t seen hair nor hide of him since it happened. He couldn’t quite decide if he was glad or not, but he didn’t have it in him to seek the other man out. It didn’t stop him from looking, every little movement had him turning, searching for his teacher, but he was always disappointed. 

After breakfast was done, they all piled onto the bus, Peter took his seat at the front, accompanied by MJ with Mr Harrington sat across the aisle from them. They had been the first on and Peter was surprised to look up from his phone to see Mr Beck standing in front of him counting kids as they got on the bus. He had his back to him but considering this was the first time in three days he’d seen him, Peter froze. 

MJ was watching him but didn’t comment, she held out one of her earphones and quietly asked if he was okay. Peter nodded numbly, looking away from Mr Beck to accept the earphone and chose to look out the window instead of returning his gaze to his teacher. He watched his reflection in the glass, as he finished ushering kids aboard then spoke to the driver, moving to the back of the bus to take his seat. Not once had he even glanced Peter’s way and didn’t that hurt like he’d been punched in the stomach.

He took a deep breath, hoping to ease the tight feeling in his chest before relaxing into the seat. MJ’s soft music paired with the gentle movement of the bus sent him straight to sleep, Peter was glad his travel sickness chose to take it easy on him for once. One minute he was blinking back heavy eyelids as they moved in slow Paris traffic then he was being gently wakened by MJ shaking his shoulder to the sight of the airport as they arrived. 

Mr Harrington jumped up and almost fell when the bus stopped before making his way down the aisle to make sure everyone was awake and had everything. Peter stretched his arms up, yawning wide, before grabbing a bottle of water out of his bag. MJ was pulling on her coat and putting her book into her backpack, before leaning back to look at him. 

‘You’re looking a bit better, you sleep okay?’ She eyed him up and down waiting for him to put his water away. Peter rubbed at his face, attempting a small smile at her.

‘M’fine, really MJ.’ She levelled him a look that showed him that his smile and words failed to pacify her. 

‘I want to know what happened, Peter. Whatever it was, I would never judge you, or make fun. I’m just worried.’ He sighed heavily; she was just concerned but he really didn’t know how to tell her without her going crazy about it.

‘I will, MJ. Promise. I just need a bit to process it for myself.’ She didn’t look too happy but seem appeased for now. 

‘I’ll sit next to you on the plane, you can sleep some more if you want or we can talk, not about that, just talk in general. You look like you need some socialisation.’

‘Thanks,’ it came out in a laugh, ‘I think there was something nice in there. I’d like that.’ She punched him lightly on the arm as both teachers walked past them signalling that they could disembark now. After making sure they had everything they got off and waited to grab their cases, rolling their eyes when Flash pushed past them talking loudly at his phone. 

‘Where does he get the energy to be on camera like that all the time?’ Peter was genuinely perplexed at just how much ‘live streaming’ Flash had done during the trip; MJ just shrugged moving forward when the bus driver took her case off the bus. 

‘No clue, but God knows he doesn’t need the attention.’ Peter laughed in agreement grabbing his case as well. He could feel eyes on him, his Peter-sense tingled, but he remained looking at MJ ignoring the feeling. 

Ned appeared at his side, ‘We’re going in now, you coming?’ He nodded, turning to follow Ned and Betty inside. He saw something move out of the corner of his eye and when he looked up he was shocked to see Doctor Strange standing next to the Airport building. He tipped his head, and Peter turned to MJ and told her he’d catch up, before moving to where Dr Strange was.

He turned the corner to see the man sitting waiting for him. ‘Hi, Dr Strange.’ Peter shifted awkwardly as Dr Strange stared at him. 

‘Are you okay Peter?’ The man was looking at him with concern which made Peter huff in annoyance. 

‘I’m fine man, just dealing with some stuff. What was it you wanted?’ 

‘I was just checking in Peter, I wanted to know how your break was going but I can see not well. Do you want to talk-‘

‘What, talk about it? Why do people keep asking me that, I’m fine really, I just want to be left alone in my heartbreak!’ Peter froze, revealing a bit more than he’d originally planned. Dr Strange just stared at him before nodding and getting up.

‘Look, kid, I’m not the most emotionally open so when I say it, I mean it, don’t bottle this up because it warps you and turns you mean. You’re better than that.’ Peter nodded watching the man stand awkwardly in front of him. ‘You’re a good kid.’ Strange patted his shoulder, but they both jumped when another person appeared. 

‘Peter?’ Peter tensed at the voice, he hadn’t heard it in three days, and it felt like it was maybe too much. Strange was looking at Mr Beck, no doubt he’d seen Peter’s reaction. 

‘I’m just coming, Mr Beck.’ He stayed where he was facing Dr Strange, wanting another minute with him. He was right that he was a bit of an emotionless hardass but he had gone to space with Peter, had been the first person he’d seen after the blip. He trusted him with his life. 

‘I think it would be best if you came now, Peter.’ He felt another hand on his shoulder, forcing him to turn around. Mr Beck looked very angry which seemed to set Peter off. He shrugged off his hand and took a step backwards, towards Dr Strange, ignoring the look that came over Mr Beck’s face. 

‘I said I’m coming.’ Peter was itching for a fight but was surprised when Dr Strange laughed behind him, he saw Mr Beck’s eyes dart to the other man over his shoulder. 

‘Don’t you know how to pick ‘em, kid, you’re very much like Tony that way. On you go, I’ll see you back in New York anyway.’ He patted Peter’s shoulder before summoning a portal and stepping into it, no doubt back in the sanctum at Bleeker Street. 

Being left with Mr Becker was weird, he was gaping at the space Dr Strange had been but seemed to come back to himself when Peter started walking. Mr Beck quickly fell into step with him, and awkward silence falling around them. He could tell the other man wanted to ask about Strange, but thankfully he kept quiet until they were back with the group. 

Ned eyed him cautiously before pulling him a few steps away, ‘what was all that about?’ he whispered. 

‘Nothing, I was talking to Dr Strange and Mr Beck appeared out of nowhere.’ Peter shrugged off Ned’s concerned look. 

‘He watched you leave.’ They both jumped at MJ’s voice, both turning to see her watching Mr Beck as he spoke to some airport lady. Peter ignored the twinge of jealousy he felt at seeing him talking to some lady when he had barely said anything to him. ‘He watches you a lot, I’ve noticed.’ She said it casually, clearly hoping to trick him into telling her something.

‘Yeah right. Are we boarding soon?’ Hoping MJ would take his hint to move on, he looked about to see everyone moving towards the gate. 

‘Appears so, come on.’ They joined the growing queue, laughing when Mr Beck finally snapped and took Flash’s phone off him, turning it off and threatening to keep it till the plane landed in America. Flash just grumbled before storming into the plane. 

It was gonna be a long flight home and Peter had a lot to think about, but he was glad that he had MJ and Ned to keep him company. And if he was staring at Mr Beck, neither of them needed to know, especially when the man looks back at him.


	15. New Perspective

Luckily, they were being picked up by family at the airport, so Peter didn’t have to suffer another bus ride. He hadn’t spoken to May in a few days, except over text where he gave one-word answers that she had probably assumed were because he was busy. 

Peter hadn’t expected to see both May and Happy waiting at the gate, with a large crowd of excited parents. Seeing them together, comfortable, and happy, made jealousy burn through him quickly followed by shame. May was happy, something she hadn’t been in a long time, so just because Peter had no luck in the heart department didn’t mean he could take it out on them.

MJ and Ned both hugged him goodbye. They still had a week before school would startup, so they promised to check in and MJ made it clear they would have the ‘talk’. 

Peter laughed, ‘Okay, mom. I’ll see you guys.’ He headed towards May who had finally spotted him. Her smile was quick to fall at the sight of him, pulling him into a tight hug once he was close enough.

‘Oh, honey.’ Was all she said, and Peter felt the tears coming back in full force. She pulled away to wipe his face and take him to the car, that Peter assumed a now absent Happy had gone to collect. Peter looked back, vaguely seeing MJ staring after them as his gaze locked onto Mr Beck who was fully staring back, a twisted expression on his face.

May sat with him in the back as Peter sobbed and clung to her. The last time he’d acted like this was when Mr Stark died, and his parents before that. 

Happy dropped them off, spoke quietly to May before leaving them. No doubt he didn’t want to deal with Peter’s shit. May just sat him on the couch before making them both tea. They sat in silence as Peter’s breathing calmed and all he was left with was puffy eyes and a runny nose. 

‘I made a mistake.’ His voice cracked as he spoke quietly as if whispering wouldn’t disturb the peace. He pulled a blanket over his legs and stared at the wall, afraid to look at May. 

‘Whatever it was Peter, I won't judge. But I need you to tell me.’ He could feel her gaze on him, but he couldn’t face her, just let out a humourless laugh as a few silent tears fell.

‘I… I slept with someone I shouldn’t have.’ He closed his eyes as a warm hand clasped his.

‘Peter?’

‘I screwed up, I have feeling for someone I shouldn’t and I slept with him and he broke it off because it should never have happened.’ Once he’d started the words kept coming and May pulled him into   
another hug, letting him cry into her shoulder.

‘It’s okay Peter, it’s okay.’ She ran a soothing hand down his back.

‘Why does it feel like the world is ending then, why does it hurt so much?’ She moved back, wiping his face, and looking him in the eye.

‘It hurts because it was real.’ His face crumpled at her words, ‘I’m not going to ask you to tell me who, I trust you to make decisions like these. So long as it was entirely mutual, Peter. He didn’t take advantage of you?’

‘No, no, he wouldn’t.’ She smiled and shushed him softly.

‘Okay, that all I need to hear. I trust you to know what you’re comfortable with, and who. But I am always here if you need to tell me anything. It hurts because your heart was broken, because you cared a lot, and it’ll take time to heal.’

‘I just want it to stop.’ It was a whispered plea that made May smile.

‘I know you do, but once you’ve healed, you’ll be thankful for the pain. It makes us stronger, helps us to learn and grow.’ Peter pulled her into a hug and they just sat for a while as the sun went down, dancing shadows across the walls. Peter watched as they drew him into sleep.

It was quiet steps that woke him, soft murmurs pulling him from sleep. He was stretched out on the couch with the blanket tucked around him. May was sitting at the kitchen table while Happy moved about, setting down plate silently and pouring coffee. It was Happy who noticed that Peter was awake. 

‘Morning buddy.’ He accompanied the words with a gentle smile and began dishing up pancakes from Styrofoam containers. Peter got up, rubbing at his eyes, and joined May at the table. Happy brought over the food and then the coffee, before settling across from them.

‘Happy was kind enough to give us some space last night, but we’re both going to spend the day with you. Cheer you up.’ She smiled brightly at them both, ‘maybe take you to the beach, get some ice cream?’

‘You guys don’t have to do that.’ Peter felt bad, they didn’t have to waste their time babysitting him.

‘You are right,’ Happy interjected, ‘we don’t have to. But we do want to, both spend time with you and cheer you up.’ He stared Peter down as if expecting more resistance. 

‘Okay, if you’re sure.’

‘Completely sure.’

He took a bite of his pancakes before remembering, ‘can we go into New York? Dr Strange wanted to talk to me.’

‘If you’re feeling up to it then I suppose so.’ May didn’t sound certain but Peter nodded. Being Spiderman was something to keep him busy, and he wanted to keep in the loop. It made him feel included. 

The doors to the sanctum seemed to loom before them and Peter had to admit this place was cool as hell. It was also not the place for May and Happy to be set free in, so he left them outside with an apologetic look. 

Inside hadn’t changed from the last time he’d been here. That had been just after Tony’s death. Dr Strange had spirited him away for some alone time, they’d bonded a little, but Peter hadn’t felt comfortable talking to the man. So, instead of talking Peter had let Strange heal his cuts and bruises. It was one of the first times Peter had realised he was probably gay; he didn’t like Strange like that but the feeling of his big hands touching the sensitive skin of his back had affected him in many ways. 

‘Peter,’ He was drawn out of his musings by Strange, who was down the hall, ‘are you all right now?’

Peter smiled at the concern, ‘I’m getting better, don’t worry about it.’ He moved down the hall towards the older man. ‘What was it you wanted to talk to me about?’ 

‘Nothing bad, or that couldn’t have waited. I’m sorry about being at the airport, hope you didn’t get in trouble.’ Peter scoffed which earned him a raised eyebrow. 

‘Don’t worry, Mr Beck shouldn’t have said anything.’

‘He quite likes you.’ It was said so offhand that Peter almost tripped, spluttering out an embarrassed ‘what?!’ ‘I saw the way he looked at you, not only that but how he looked at me. It’s cute how enamoured you are with each other.’

Recovered slightly Peter stops walking, forcing Strange to stop and turn to him. ‘You don’t think it’s wrong, him being a teacher?’

‘Peter, you’ve been to outer space, died, come back to life again, fought and alien army and watch someone you care about die. You have grown so much as Spiderman, you aren’t a kid so if you rationally know you like him and he likes you, why shouldn’t you be together?’

‘I’m almost entirely sure that was a compliment, so thank you.’

Strange smiled in a way that could only be described as fondly. ‘Yeah, well I’m not saying go sleep with all your teachers, I’m just saying you’re more of an adult than anyone else knows and if you trust him then go for it.’

‘I don’t think it’s really up to me anymore. He’s expecting me to tell my Aunt about him, that he’ll lose his job. Besides, I think the law frowns upon it.’

‘You’re 17, it's your last year. If he teaches your class then don’t and wait, if he doesn’t then he isn’t strictly your teacher.’ 

‘I did not think out of everyone it would be you that would be encouraging behaviour like this in me.’ Strange laughed. 

‘Well Tony isn’t here but I figure he would say the same so.’ Strange shrugged nonchalantly but Peter could see a tiredness in the move.

‘I miss him too. Thank you, Dr Strange sir…’

‘Stephen, Peter, you can call me Stephen.’

‘Thank you, Stephen.’ In another life Peter could have loved him, maybe if he hadn’t met Quentin and fallen for him, maybe Stephen could have loved him too. 

‘Maybe,’ Peter blinked confused but the twinkle in Stephen’s eye made him blush, ‘I don’t have anything else for you, I’ve been looking into your work and I’ve devised a training schedule try and stick with it. Now go, before your friend breaks my front door down.’

Peter looked down the hall and saw Happy’s silhouette through the glass panes, ‘Shit, um sure thing then e-mail the plan to me. Thanks for everything Stephen.’

‘Goodbye Peter.’

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first posted fic and I love the idea of these two, then I saw the film and i feel cheated of a charismatic amazing Mysterio! Feel free to leave comments, tell me if there’s things that are wrong or bad or good :D


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